Dash-cam video shows near miss between semi, child

A new video uploaded to YouTube by the channel RoadCams shows the life-saving capabilities of Volvo’s Automatic Emergency Braking technology. In it, a semi narrowly misses a running child who darts out into traffic after being dropped off at a bus stop along a busy rural road.

The harrowing video, captured from a vehicle behind the bus, shows the child darting across the road from behind the bus as a red semi approaches and a woman follows in pursuit. The truck immediately starts braking, and narrowly misses the child, thanks in part to the AEB system and the child’s ability to change direction and run away from the braking rig.

AEB combines radar, which measures the distance and speed of obstruction ahead, and a camera, which provides information about the type of vehicle ahead. When the system detects a hazard, it first issues a warning to the driver via a red LED light reflected on the windshield, then automatically engages the brakes if there is no reaction from the driver. It is similar to forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems found throughout new-car lineups.

This video from Volvo Trucks explains how the technology works.

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Volvo has had Automatic Emergency Braking standard on its vehicles since 2014 and says it will make Forward Collision Warning standard on all new Volvos by 2018, part of its IntelliSafe suite of safety technologies. The company says its goal is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020.